After garnering over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, over 100 million YouTube views, three No. 1 hits, one RIAA-Platinum certified and four RIAA Gold-certified singles, Michael Ray has essentially earned his doctorate in country music. He has been sharing that knowledge through his latest seven-song collection Higher Education, with the official music video for the title track premiering tonight, Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. CT.

The video will premiere exclusively on YouTube, followed by a Premium Afterparty Livestream, featuring Ray and collaborators Lee Brice and Tim Montana, to talk about the video and answering questions from attendees. Fans can purchase YouTube Premium for access to the afterparty.

Brice, Billy F. Gibbons, Montana and Kid Rock join Ray on “Higher Education,” a defiant and rebellious anthem penned by Montana, Derek George, Jeremy Bussey, Monty Criswell and Frank Rogers, and produced by Ross Copperman. American Songwriter calls it “a well-suited centerpiece of the project,” and praises that the full collection “speaks to the things Ray has deemed important at this point in his life…inviting his listeners into his world, pulling back the curtain on who he is off the stage.”

Ray was joined by Montana earlier this week on “Fox & Friends,” as they shared a special performance video of the song from the Nashville Palace. Watch the performance video HERE.

Lead single “Whiskey And Rain,” celebrated by Rolling Stone for “embracing a natural throwback country sound,” continues to climb the charts at Country radio, reaching the Top 15 after garnering 66 million streams.


Higher Education track list:
 
1.     Whiskey And Rain (Josh Thompson, Jesse Frasure)
2.     Just The Way I Am (Michael Hardy, Ben West, Josh Miller)
3.     Holy Water (Ashley Gorley, Hunter Phelps, Ben Johnson, Michael Hardy)
4.     Picture (Michael Ray, David Garcia, Michael Hardy)
5.     Higher Education feat. Kid Rock, Lee Brice, Billy Gibbons and Tim Montana (Tim Montana, Derek George, Jeremy Bussey, Monty Criswell, Frank Rogers)
6.     Live Without You (Michael Hardy, Jessi Alexander, Corey Crowder)
7.     Didn’t Know I Was Country (Michael Ray, Taylor Phillips, Ashley Gorley)

About Michael Ray  For Michael Ray, music is his grandfather singing and sweating on a rural Florida stage. It’s the childhood refuge he found during the pain of his parents’ divorce. It’s family and stories, history and hope. Ray says music saved him, but it did even more: Music made him. In four short years, Ray has built an impressive foundation. Three No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” “Kiss You in the Morning,” and “One That Got Away” – plus “Get to You” and “Her World or Mine,” brings his tally to four Gold-certified singles. The poignant “Her World or Mine” from his sophomore album Amos also produced a video that has captured more than 26 million YouTube views since its debut less than a year ago. Now, two hit albums into that all-too-rare blend of critically acclaimed and commercially successful career, Ray has released “Whiskey and Rain,” the first single off his Higher Education EP, produced by GRAMMY-nominated song whisperer Ross Copperman. Proof that heartbroken wallowing can feel good if it swings, “Whiskey And Rain” has garnered 66 million streams as it reaches the Top 15 at Country Radio, cementing Ray as the ideal bridge between vintage country cool and modern country’s best sounds. Catch Ray this on his Just The Way I Am Tour, wrapping this fall at Tortuga Music Festival. Learn more about Ray at MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay

 

 

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After garnering over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, over 100 million YouTube views, three No. 1 hits, one RIAA-Platinum certified and four RIAA Gold-certified singles, Michael Ray has essentially earned his doctorate in country music. He has been sharing that knowledge through his latest seven-song collection Higher Education, with the...